The shrinking world due to Globalisation

The shrinking world due to Globalisation The world is getting smaller day by day in terms of business perspectives, communications, relationships, decision making etc. Globalization makes narrower to the people as well. Now-a-days the multinational companies are introducing their brand in globally with their variety of products and services. Companies are focusing the demographic issues and cultural barriers when they designed their products or service. With their prior concern regarding the management structure specially deal with public relation and government legislation like Import rules, duty and vat, customs process and others related new company entry rules and licensing stuffs. For example, Unilever are spreading its products every where in the world, its popular beauty soap Lux is every where in the world almost. The product colour and flavour are not exactly same as well. Beside bar soap they are now more focus on liquid soap with different flavour and colour. Its because of increasing competition in the market. I n every minute one leading companys are struggling to keep their position in the market. Developing new strategy and approaches, cost minimization, making most of the companys resources. Case study: In uk Waitrose supermarket is one of the leading food retailers and for the quality of foods and services is renowned. Waitrose is a part of John Lewis partnership and Greenbee also its another wing called name. John Lewis has 28 department stores and one John Lewis at home. 69,000 partners have in john Lewis (all staffs are called by partner) and the first profit scheme which called partnership was established in 1920. For best service and success of the organization, continuous improvement is very essential for the Partners because they are directly interacting with customers and facing noble situations. In John Lewis they have some unique motivation key like increment, Partnership bonus and many kind of reward that motivate partners and management leading their team in good way and its effect we saw in 2009 due to financial crisis Waitrose did very well without any job cut. Yes there was some hour cut in branch and for thats why they faced some difficulty like, for a customer it w as bit difficult to find out available staff in shop floor for help. Strong leadership, motivated hard working team and effective organizational culture is the main pillar to become Waitrose successful retailer in the UK. In 1937 John Lewis partnership acquired Waitrose and in 1955opened first supermarket. In present Waitrose have 222 supermarkets, catalogue and an online business in the UK and also they have branches in UAE. Partnership turnover was  £6bn In 2009/10 report and second half of this year they increased their sales 11.4%% and sales are 1.3% lower in John Lewis. In Dubai 5137sq meter with 150 employees in Dubai mall operating with Spinney company. At November 2008 First Waitrose established in Dubai and around 2010 there will be open 20 more stores and also one in Bahrain will have by 2010. Waitrose has today announced that it will open its first smaller format convenience store this summer as part of its plans to increase its presence in the UKs convenience sector. The first of the new format stores, which will offer shops with sales areas ranging from 2,000-4,000 sqft, will open in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge in early summer and create up to 40 new jobs. It will be the first of four initial trials of the format planned for this year and will become the first Waitrose shop in its core estate to measure under 3,000sqft.The smaller convenience shops will help the supermarket in bringing its brand to the 6.5 million potential customers it has identified who are currently unable to easily access Waitrose. To read this above paragraph we can see that organizations are constantly changing day by day. Employees are affected by this change and need to adapt, learn new skills, knowledge in order to be able adapt and keep up with the pace in the market. However, due to the changing of business climate and Technology Company should provide the entire knowledge and skills make a competent workforce. There are many external factors which can be identified, which affect the working culture and environment of the company and in this case Waitrose. Here we look at the various external factors under various heads in the analysis such as Political, Legal, Socio-cultural, and Environmental. Change facts: Organizational change occurs when a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort. And also compete with competition in the market. Organizational change initiatives often arise out of problems faced by a company. In some cases, however, companies are encouraged to change for other, more positive reasons. Change commonly occurs because the organization experiences some difficulty, or sometime for more efficiency with resources. But sometimes the most constructive change takes place not because of problems but because of opportunities. The Bateman, Thomas S., and Carl P. Zeithaml (1990) used the term performance gap to describe the difference between a companys actual performance and the performance of which it is capable. Recognition of a performance gap often provides the impetus for change, as companies  strive  to improve their performance to expected levels. This sort of gap is also where many entrepreneurs find opportunities to begin new businesses. Analysis: World is getting smaller day by day and every thing is changing in this planet. Business is also affected by these changes. To meet the government new legislation or develop their new product they are changing their organizational system, characteristics structure and sometime business environment as well. To do these changes there is a lot of resistance and here we will analyse how to reduce this resistance. PESTL analyse and SWOT analyse is the easiest way to do this analyse. PESTL analysis makes the companies understandable about external environment where they are operating their business and they can establish their future plan (Blery Sfetsion, 2008). On the other hand to find out the relationship between the external and internal appraisals in strategic analysis we need SWOT analysis. SWOT analysing the key factors of the environment and the fundamental internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization will help dictate the strategies appropriate to the firm. PESTL Analysis on Waitrose: Its very important for any organisation to give attention of there external environmental factor. External environmental analysis can help to identify the direction of the industry and thus predict the future. Waitrose may use PESTLE analysis as various benefits. It is useful for Waitrose when used as a checklist, from when little deduction can be maid. It may enable the identification of key pressures and drivers of change. When Waitrose has workout which elements are most important which are less and their differential impact may change over time. (Ray Donnelly, 2000) Political-factors: Law and political stability is the most common political issues. Law is very important for any business State. The Government is always changeable. All the politicians come from different level so they may have indifferent views. They will create the Law from their different views. So business industry will be affected by that Law. As an example in UK, 1996 they introduce a law about restriction of selling and marketing Knives. Australia also band automatic weapon. Belarus obstructs to sell some foreign product. (Chee and Hassis, 1998). It may as well include the legal aspect and is composed of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals. These laws may often create new opportunities for businesses. Economical- factors: Economic conditions have enormous implication for business strategy. The interface between the business and its economic environment are several. Economic factors affects cost, consumer demand, financing option, raw materials availabilities, pricing and many more matters. (Roger Bennett 1999) United Kingdom has very strong economic growth and high GDP trends. Bank Rate to raise towards 5.75% by the end of 2007, Interest rate futures in the United Kingdom. The effective exchange rate for Sterling fell almost 2%, the growth of credit and broad money remained rapid. UK domestic products increased by 0.7% then 2006. Markets require purchasing power as well as people. The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, savings, debts, and credit availability. Waitrose one of the biggest retailers in UK has managed to retain its competitiveness within the market and its demand for products has been high ever since. Market expansion Employment Inflation Exchange Rates Interest Rates Trade balance Structure and structural change Socio-Cultural- factors: A social issue is an important factor for a business. Day by day people are become internationalists. People are involved with different business. They are changing their life style. UK in 1960 if any non-smoker gives complain against smoker its abnormal, in 1980 non- smoker were the majority and become common in office and in 1990 smoker was atypical. Now it is anti-social and prohibitten on public transport and work place. A countries culture effect on there residence lifestyle and there behaviour. UK is one of the country where the life style rapidly change it may cause for unstable market. It also focuses on: What people buy Who does the purchasing and Overall pattern of consumer buying behaviour. Human rights Career Expectations of people Employee Motivation Growth of population Age distribution of population Regional shifts in population Technology- factors: Technology spends on RD, innovating new product, new service, electronic point of sales; online shopping. As the technological advancement is going faster in UK the e-business is moving concurrently. Introducing the Fibber optical, V-set installation, Radio Link and Broadband are available in UK. The people are using the online to buy their daily necessary. Very frequently Waitrose can expand their online shopping business where they earned their most of the revenue. Quality of product will take customer demanded as well as those products that has the latest up-gradation from the distributors predicting its demand in near future. Research and Development Computerise processing system Online Shopping Payment protection system Use of new Technology Legal factors: The company is regulated by federal, state and international environmental laws governing their utilization of substances and control of emissions. These laws have a direct impact on the development of its products. The company is required to comply with air emission standards which are applicable to internal combustion engines. SWOAT analysis for Waitrose: Robson believes that a SWOT analysis defines the relationship between the internal and external appraisals in strategic analysis. Analysing the key factors of the environment and the fundamental internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization will help dictate the strategies appropriate to the firm. Strengths: The firms main strength is its solid revenues which are generated from its presence all around the world and help the organization to survive now and in future. It has set out standards and policies which are used to approach different markets appropriately. It also has techniques to retain markets against its competitors. It has managed to remain competitive in the market. It has established a multi brand differentiation strategy which has accordingly been adopted to meet different needs in different countries. It has maintained strong and steady relationship with the government. Ability to manage highly qualified and motivated human resources Weaknesses: Instability of foreign exchange rates makes planning of budgets and profits difficult. It engages in heavy costs of production especially in Europe due to excessive tax deduction requirements in some of the countries. Product information website is not clear Operation performance is poor HR strategy is not to strong Opportunities: The establishment of common business process and information systems allow the company to collect data and making decisions for overseas markets more easily. Although, Waitrose is a recognised brand, its current process of innovation and development of new products, indicates a rapid growth in the highest potential markets around the globe. Owner by John Lewes Globally online business. Marketing sales Outbound Logistic Goods Issue Threats: Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates mean a high risk for the company. Fluctuations in demands especially the increased demand in overseas markets make the planning process more tough, and hence a continuous price pressure arises from various markets. Another threat is its rising labour and health care cost, owed to the increasing number of employees working for the company. Risk of strikes from trade unions and new country policies are another major threat to the organization.

Society Have Become Dependent On Technology

Today’s society is too dependent on technology. With all the advancements to our standard technology such as the internet, cell phones, computers, iPad and all other wireless and electronic devices. Today’s technology has change society with many thinking that can’t exist without these devices. Technology has brought the world to our fingertips. It has change the workplace, and the way we learn. Society’s dependence on technology paired with the rise of technology is a disadvantage to humanity as whole.What was considered a luxury is now considered a necessity. Advancements in communications technologies is a benefit to our society. Dependence can best be seen when there is a power outage over an hour, people go into instant panic mode. Dependence on technology will inevitably lead to advances in technology, creating new social standards, thereby furthering the same dependence on technology. Technology also creates a world that demands things in a rapid ma nner. It provides a faster means of communication, makes a person more efficient and organized.Deepak Chopra, MD author and founder of The Chopra Foundation states that technology doubles every year and in 10 years will be a million times more. Let’s look back at history in the early to mid-1900 when children and adults didn’t rely on television and computers but spent time with family and friends in person having face to face communication. Technology has affective how children play. Fewer kids play outside due to video games and other electronic devices. Today I can be in my home playing a video game with a friend in his home in other state through the internet online.Every day millions of people turn on their cell phones, log on to their social networking sites and spend hours each day texting, messaging, and blogging. Pew Internet reports for cell phones activities this year (2013) shows 91% of American adults own a cell phone. Younger adults are more affluent in t he use of cell phones. Texting continues to be the most common cell phone activities, with 81% of cell owner’s text. Texting is popular among younger adult and college educated.Many persons access the internet through their cell phone, with more that 34% admitting mostly accessing the internet from their phones. Pew’s report also identify half of cell owners send and receive email from their phone. It was also noted that 49% of cell owners used their phones to look up directions, recommendation and other information related to their location and 48% of owners listening to music on their phones. The Apple iPad a newer device falls somewhere between the smart phone and notebook computer.It allows a person to accomplish their routine task for work, school and home. Technology is the major reasons for the changes in society. Technology has taken over our lives and has provided shortcuts and an easy way out. Many people admit that their smart phone or other electronic devic e runs their life. The military uses technology to monitor our Nation against national treat . Technology is a vital element of the advancement of education, healthcare, communication and transportation.

Islam Change over Time Essay - 1324 Words

Islam Change Over Time The spread of Islam throughout the world was among the most significant worldwide movements in history. Beginning as the faith of a small community of believers in Arabia in the seventh century, Islam rapidly became one of the major world religions. The core beliefs and culture of this faith is the belief that Muhammad (570-632), a respected businessman in Mecca, a commercial and religious center in western Arabia, received revelations from God that have been preserved in the Quran. The core of Islam remains the same today after 1396 years. Islam still translates to â€Å"submission† and Muslims still live by the Qur’an and follow the 5 Pillars of Islam. However, throughout the Pre-Islamic, Umayyad, and Abbasid†¦show more content†¦The political structure of the new community was rather informal. In this early era, the characteristically Islamic sense of the community of believers, rather than a concept of church or state, was firmly established as the cent ral institutional identification for Muslims. In this way, Islam can be described as a way of life rather than as a religion separate from politics or other dimensions of society. Because of his role as the messenger of God, Muhammads own personal actions and words had special prestige. When Muhammad died, Muslims faced the challenge of creating institutions to preserve the community. This is the Middle period of Islam. Muslims believe that the revelation was completed with the work of Muhammad, who is described as the seal of the prophets. The leaders after Muhammad were described only as caliphs, or successors to the Prophet, and not as prophets themselves. 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1.07 Ethics Essay - 956 Words

1.07 Ethics Directions: Complete the tasks below. Replace the highlighted text with your own answers. Copy and paste your answers to the student comments box in 1.07 and submit for grading. For each of the following four cases, explain why you would either approve or disapprove the proposed research experiments. Evaluate each proposal based on the four main principles of ethical research provided in this lesson. Every research experiment must follow all four principles to be considered ethical. Copy and paste your answer only for each case to the student comments section of 1.07 and submit for grading. It is not enough to just approve or deny, you must also Case 1: The Psychology Department is requesting permission from your†¦show more content†¦There is most likely a virtual lab where they can experience the effects of brain legions. Case 2: Your University includes a college of veterinary medicine. 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A Reflection Free Essays

The best training ground for every deserving student is in fact, the University of Arizona. Its education is the food market of the human mind. It fuels the student’s professional growth and thrusts him towards definite directions in his day to day activity. We will write a custom essay sample on A Reflection or any similar topic only for you Order Now Furthermore, this university is his watering holes from which he quenches his thirsts and draws his strength as he travels treks through his arduous journey towards excellence and fulfillment. Over the years, this institute has able to mold its graduates into becoming professionals with superb brilliance, genuine dignity and outstanding values. From that day I stepped into this mammoth training ground, I was convinced this University would mean more than life to me. Its warm people, specialized programs and well-prepared curricula are the best tools to guide and shape a freshman like me. My first semester in the University of Arizona is a time of transition, in which I experienced inner transformation as well as realization of my worth as a young adult. I have realized, that with adulthood, comes responsibility. Responsibility is synonymous with obligation, dedication and perseverance. I have the obligation to make the best of my time and effort while studying, not only for the enrichment of myself but also for the benefit of those who have been backing me up in prayers and in thoughts. Aside from these, I have realized that I am accountable to my actions and the little decisions that I make each day, to keep myself whole until that day I got that priceless sheet of paper to pursue my dreams and give back to my family and my country their rewards of life and love, as much as my parents have consented and gave their full trust and support to me, even though being in this university means to be miles and miles away from home. This university has taught me to be committed to every particular task I have, especially in my academics. These things could be as simple as doing my homework diligently or to bigger things like spending wisely every single penny my parents have worked for. Furthermore, this university has taught me to dedicate myself towards living up into its vision and mission and constantly strive to gain excellence not just mentally, but holistically. Back from my humble and simple city in California, I used to misunderstand the independence I have. I relied solely with my parents and left all the household responsibilities to them. I hardly even washed the dishes, nor fixed my room! I did not even bother to clean the house or even my own mess.   I was used to having all things readily set and made available for me. I was reluctant with my studies and my dreams in life were vague. In fact, I enjoyed the company of friends and loved to stay outside shopping and partying, thinking these things would make me happy. But, I was wrong! Not that I have not yet matured that time, but I should say, I refused to grow. Aside from responsibility, I have learned to possess the virtue of balance; where there is freedom, there should always be balance. In my quite life here, I have learned to live life on my own, prepare my food, wash my clothes, clean my room, do my homework and be at peace with everyone. I have to cope with the busy schedules in school and meet the deadlines and make sure that I have read my lessons in advance. Unlike before, I realized that am not getting any younger and that, in this busy world, one should always be in moderation, no matter how many the predicaments are. Speaking of predicaments, my grandmother’s death was one of the most challenging experiences I have during my first semester here. I have been very close to her and being favored by her so much.   I never actually felt very far from home since she was always there beside me to cheer me up and inspire me. But with her death, I felt effortless with school. I was afraid to live alone and assume my responsibilities as a grown-up individual. So I had to go home most of the time.   But through constant effort and vivid plans in life, I have managed to make good in my first training at the University of Arizona. My grandmother’s death served as a challenge for me to believe in myself as much as she trusted me and believed in my potentials. In the real life, everything passes by and that all we need to do is to learn wholeheartedly from every particular experience and take that experience objectively for the betterment of ourselves. I love this university, its people and the promises it holds for each student. Although, I am experiencing a difficult time to adjust to my classmates since all of us come from different states, and the harsh hot weather this State has, I still find this very challenging and exciting. Being in a big city like Tucson is no joke for a young student but I am willing to explore the opportunities this school provides, if these were to open chances of improvement. I love the excitements here, all the fun and the activities set for students. I love the way this institution has become a tool to shape me into a better a person. I know it has only been a semester, but I could see how challenging the coming semesters would be. With the right training and education I have right now, I can see a brighter future not just for my self, for my family and also for my country. America has lots of intellectuals already!   This time, and in the years to come, what it needs are people who do not just have the minds but the heart as well! America needs citizens who are open to the growing changes in the society, taking into consideration the welfare of everybody. America needs people who, despite the diversities there are, remain to be a united and strong citizenry. The country’s effort of producing value-centered graduates demands no less! I am confident that the University of Arizona will make me and the rest of us here to be one of those people America has been longing for! How to cite A Reflection, Essay examples

Cognitive Development - Reflective Statement free essay sample

Thirteen years ago I first started learning to play the guitar and today I am still very passionate about developing my skills on the instrument. Looking in detail at the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, this reflective statement will explore my learning journey of playing the guitar and a challenge I faced with my development explaining the impact it had with reference to the chosen theories. Jean Piaget and Lev Semanovich Vygotsky were two of the most influential theorists that contributed to how we view cognitive development today. Piaget was born in 1896 in Neuchatel, Switzerland to a father who was a scientist and a mentally ill mother. Like his father, this led him to spend most of his time in scientific study rather than perusing more conventional leisure activities. He was a very gifted as a child and at the age of 10 had published his first scientific article. At 14 he was offered a curators position at the Geneva Museum of Nation History and at 18 he had gained his first Bachelor’s degree. He then completed his PHD and by the time he was 21 he had published 25 scholarly papers. From his studies with children in Paris, he became convinced that children think in ways that are qualitatively different than adults. He passed away in 1980 at the age of 84 (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). Like Piaget, Vygotsky was born into an intellectual family in the southern Byelorussian town of Gomel. Intellectually gifted as a child with an extraordinary memory, he was educated at home and later won a place at the University of Moscow in 1913. After completing university with a degree in law, he returned to Byelorussia and taught a range of subjects to adults and children including language and literature, logic and psychology, and art history and theatre. During this teaching he became interested in children with learning difficulties and intellectual disabilities inspiring him to develop research clinics that conducted research on such children. He was particularly interested in devising ways in which to assess children’s intellectual abilities and to evaluate the efficiency of intervention strategies. In 1924 he moved to Moscow to work with other psychologists and together they developed a ‘cultural-historical’ or ‘sociohistorical’ view of human development that emphasized cognitive activities such as thinking, memory and reasoning until his death in 1934. The Russian communist party banned his work from 1936 to 1956 and it wasn’t until the 1960’s that his work was well known around the world (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). Piaget believed that rather my development of playing the guitar being continuous, it related to a series of distinct sequentially proceeding ‘stages’ of cognitive development from birth to my now adulthood, with thinking at one stage being qualitatively different from thinking at the next (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). He identified four universal and invariant stages that all children must progress through in sequence in order to reach the level of cognitive development that demonstrates a capacity to think abstractly and use reason. These four stages in order are the ‘sensorimotor stage’ from birth till two years, the ‘preoperational stage’ from two till six or seven years, the ‘concrete operations stage’ from seven till eleven or twelve years, and finally the ‘formal operations stage’ from eleven or twelve years till adulthood. Piaget identified what he called ‘developmental milestones’ for each of his stages that were key achievements to be attained by a child in each cognitive level (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). I first picked up a guitar to play when I was seven years of age so according to Piaget I probably would have been entering into my concrete operations stage. This meant that I had achieved the developmental milestone of ‘conservation’, which is the understanding that objects or quantities remain the same despite changes in personal appearance but had not yet demonstrated abstract thought and propositional reasoning as in the formal operations stage. This showed, as I understood that I could manipulate the same notes on the guitar by placing my fingers on different strings, in different locations on the fret board to achieve the same pitch of sound. But when asked to think abstractly and use propositional and hypothetical-deductive reasoning like in musical composition, I found I could only play music taught to me, not write my own. I remember writing my first song on the guitar when I was aged thirteen. This would be one of my first memories of demonstrating a capacity to think not just about concrete realities, but also about abstract possibilities or and infinite number of imaginable realities. Piaget argued that how we think remains the same no matter what our age, what changes is the way we organize our thoughts using what he described as ‘schemes’. These schemes are a mental image or cluster of related ideas used to organize existing knowledge and to make sense of new experiences (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). According to this theory, I started my learning journey with the guitar as a young child when I first was exposed to the idea of music. This created a new scheme for ‘music’ and was the building platform for all my further experiences and ideas that related to music. My journey would have then progressed as I was exposed to new ideas about music, with each new idea modifying my scheme of music. Piaget described the modification of schemes when introduced to new experiences as ‘disequilibrium’, which is the cognitive imbalance resulting from inconsistency between what is known and what is expected, and something strange and expected (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). This would have first been shown when introduced to the image of a guitar. By not having any prior schemes connected to this new experience, I would have entered a mental state of disequilibrium. To try fixing this imbalanced state, Piaget describes a process called ‘adaptation’ taking place. This is the process of adjusting to new situations and experiences through the modification of existing schemes or the creation of new schemes by either of two processes called ‘accommodation’ or ‘assimilation’. Accommodation refers to creating fresh information to form a new mental image or scheme. An example would be when I first experienced seeing a guitar, a new ‘guitar’ scheme was created and every other experience of guitars was then added to this scheme. As well as accommodation taking place, assimilation is used to adjust existing mental models or schemes to fit a mental experience (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). An example of this would be when I previously had only seen acoustic guitars, and then being introduced to the experience of seeing an electric guitar for the first time. Knowing that it looked similar to what I currently thought a guitar looks like, but the shape and size were different, I experienced disequilibrium and then using accommodation I adjusted my existing mental model and scheme to fit the new experience. Once balance between what is familiar and known, new and unfamiliar has been achieved through the process of assimilation and accommodation, a state of equilibration will now replace the disequilibrium. This happened whenever I successfully learned a new chord, new fingering pattern or any way in which my guitar scheme encountered and adapted to a new experience. When I stopped receiving guitar lessons at the age of thirteen, the lack of social interaction with the other guitar students challenged me in my learning of the instrument. Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that social interaction plays an important part in influencing development. According to Piaget’s theory he suggests that social interactions with others, including peers and teachers, contribute to children’s learning experiences (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). While I was receiving lessons I was critically challenged by my teacher to constantly expand my existing scheme of what I could play on the guitar, but without a teacher or mentor to stimulate cognitive development I could only attempt do this myself using anti social resources I found in books and on the internet. Piaget believed that social interaction is particularly important when children are interacting with their peers who think in similar ways and who have had similar experiences but who have a slightly different perspective (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). While I was receiving lessons I’d often meet with other students to share ideas and skills to expand each other’s abilities on the guitar. This key process is described as ‘sociocognitive conflict’, which challenges children’s thinking and stimulates cognitive development as the child tries to fit together others’ views that differ from their own (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). Vygotsky argued very strongly that it is interaction with others that we learn how to think. While Piaget was interested in describing what was universal in children’s cognitive development, Vygotsky was interested in differences, and particularly how these differences arose from the social, historical and cultural context in which children grow (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). When I was receiving guitar lessons, Vygotsky described that I was developing not just as an individual, but also as a member of a particular society and culture. He described human’s mental abilities as ‘lower mental functions’, which are inherited, involuntary capacities such as vision hearing and taste that are controlled by external bjects and events as well as ‘higher mental functions’, which are developed through social interaction, including logical abstract thinking and language. These higher mental functions operate internally and are used to control lower mental functions, to solve problems concerning external objects and events (Krause, Bo chner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). When I left my guitar lessons it was these higher mental functions that were much harder to develop by myself in a solo learning environment. One of the key concepts that differed Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development from Piaget’s is the notion of internalisation. This is the notion that individuals change their ideas and processes when they observe and participate in social interaction (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). I experienced this when I was sixteen at high school and related to other peers who also shared my interest for learning the guitar. Media also played a large role in internalising ideas from songs that I had heard on the radio or seen on television. Taking these ideas from my peers and the media, I applied them to my life and built new skills and ideas from them. Vygotsky identified what he called the ‘zone of proximal development’, or ZPD, which he described as the distance between what children can do by themselves and what they can do with the help of others (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). During high school I quickly realized that the more I socialized with peers that were better than myself at playing guitar, the faster I learned new skills that would have taken me much longer to learn by myself. This is where I saw Vygotsky’s theory of ZPD being used the most. Vygotsky argued that the difference between learners is their ZPD, where one learner is much more able to benefit from assistance than the other (Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, McMaugh, 2010). During my later years in high school I found that my younger peers who hadn’t been playing guitar as long as myself benefited from older students assistance much more than I did. This showed me the significance of the role in assisting learners to progress. This reflective statement has considered how the theories of Paiget and Vygotsky have applied to my learning journey of playing the guitar and a challenge I faced during it with reference to the chosen theories. It showed how both theorists have shaped how we view cognitive development in todays teaching setting and the importance of social interaction within a learning environment. Word Count: 1979 References Krause, K. , Bochner, S. , Duchesne, S. , McMaugh, A. (2010). Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching (3rd ed. ). Victoria: Cengage Learning